


The Mandalorian in a World of Heroes

by Anonymous_Wraith



Category: The Mandalorian (TV), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Adorable, Adorable Baby Yoda, All for One is about to be a dead boi, Class 1-A Shenanigans (My Hero Academia), Gen, Interns & Internships, ManDadlorian, Mandalorian, Mandalorian Culture, Mando is Good With Kids and I STAND BY THAT, Mando is a Dad, Midoriya Izuku Has One for All Quirk, Mineta Minoru is Expelled from U.A. High School, Post-Sports Festival Arc (My Hero Academia), Space Dad Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), Third Year Class 1-A (My Hero Academia), Twenty One Pilot song lyrics as chapter titles, but with Mando, for now, i love that tag so much, woop wormholes what
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:15:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21895750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous_Wraith/pseuds/Anonymous_Wraith
Summary: They run into a wormhole. They die. The end.-- sike! They land on Earth. Specifically, Japan. No one knows what to do with them. Chaos ensues.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)
Comments: 114
Kudos: 491





	1. No one really knows his mind / And no one knows behind his [mask]

The Mandalorian cruised casually through space. As you do. The little gremlin was asleep in its crib, long ears twitching, wrapped softly in a blanket. Mando glanced back, just to make sure. Make sure of what, he didn’t know. Despite him rescuing the little one from his own sorry mistake, he was unsure of his standing on its upbringing. It was becoming clear that he couldn’t keep it safe, not for long. Not with what remained of the Empire on their tail.

He sighed. It meant _tired_ and _done_ and _why-did-I-get-myself-into-this-mess._

Then they ran into the wormhole.

It was an odd wormhole, all shimmery and hard to see, even up close. When they entered it, it felt like something cold was sliding through your veins. It lasted only a few seconds, and then they were out of it. Out into the clear, open vastness of space. 

Mando stopped piloting, trying to gain his bearings. In the distance was a blue, white, and green planet, nestled in orbit around a fairly small star. As was normal, there were several billion stars in view-- far, far away. He didn’t recognize any of them. 

He turned the ship around. Sure enough, there was nothing in that direction, not even a shiver in the air. No way to get back to where they started. 

He slumped: another _why-did-I-get-myself-into-this-mess_. Gathering himself, he drove towards the blue-white-green planet, planning on getting some directions and leaving. Of course, nothing could be so simple as that. 

As he neared the docile planet, no one spoke to him through the comms. No one telling him to stop, or where to land, or trying shooting him out of the sky. Just silence. This was his first clue that he was a lot further afield than expected. 

He sent out a broadcast. Maybe the planet hadn’t noticed his approach. “ **Razor Crest approaching. Where should we land?** ”

Radio silence. Then, a voice-- but not on the comms. “Hands up.”

Mando turned his head slightly, cursing internally. How had they snuck up on him without him noticing? “ **I need to be able to pilot this ship or it will crash into your planet.** ”

The voice brooked no nonsense. “My companion will take care of that. Stand up and hands where I can see them.”

He complied, slowly. There were two of the intruders, and one of them slipped into the seat that he had just vacated, so he assumed that the other one was the one who had spoken. They had jet packs and helmets, which explained how they got from land to his ship, but didn’t explain how they had gotten there undetected. Did their species or tech have a way to camouflage? 

“Who are you?”

Now this-- _this_ was not a problem he had run into before, except for when they meant what was under the helmet. But it was clear that this humanoid creature had no idea that he was a Mandalorian. So, he told them. “ **A Mandalorian.** ”

They raised an eyebrow. “Which is what, exactly?”

Another thing he’d never had to deal with before. Who didn’t know what a Mandolorian was? “ **Some call us the most formidable warriors in the universe.** ” He looked at the widening planet exaggeratedly. “ **What is this planet called?** ” 

“Earth--” What a ridiculous name to call a planet. Then again, he’d heard worse. “--as you should well know. But you’re not the one asking questions. What’s your name, quirk, and country of origin?”

“ **I don’t know what ‘quirk’ your referring to.** ”

“Your _quirk_ , man. Have you been living under a rock?” 

Were they talking about the moons on his birth planet? “ **Three.** ” 

They shot him a confused, slightly blank look. “‘Living under a rock’ is a phrase.”

“ **Never heard of it.** ”

A city was rising beneath them, flashing by quickly, until they were on the edge of it. The alien shifted. “We’ll continue this conversation later--”

The green child burbled, announcing its presence in its usual fashion. It held out its little three-fingered hands, eyes wide and innocent.

Mando huffed out a breath. “ **Excuse me,** ” he said, stepping past them in order to pick up the nuisance child. “ **You hungry, kid?** ” he asked. It didn’t understand him, of course, but he said it for the sake of the intruders. He turned to the spokesman, an eyebrow that they couldn’t see rising in question. “ **Do you mind?** ”

The gremlin giggled, grabbing at the surface of his helmet. He shook his head at it, but that only renewed its vigour. _Little pest_ , he thought, admittedly fondly. He scavenged for the metal ball, took it out and gave it to the child to distract it.

Meanwhile, the creature had been speaking, “We’re almost to our destination. I’ll make sure that your… son(?) gets food when we arrive.”

He nodded. Good enough. 

He turned to watch the pilot begin to land, noting their skill-- or lack thereof. They appeared to be unsure of most of the controls, slowing the ship down sloppily and constantly making it tremble. He hoped they didn’t damage it. 

People are harder to replace than parts. 

They landed shakily, but unscathed. Mando was led off his ship and into a strange, wheeled device. No hover technology, it seemed. He was then driven to what he presumed to be the local police facility, guided into a white-washed room with a desk and two chairs, then forced to wait. 

The spokesperson left, then returned, bearing a bottle of milk and some mashed… vegetables, Mando assumed. “For the little one.”

He took the milk-- he was pretty sure that it was a carnivore-- then went about feeding the little bugger. Between sips, it would coo at him, batting its non-existent eyelashes, and altogether just being freakishly adorable. Like, seriously, how can anything be that ugly but still be cute?

“You’re going to have to take off the helmet,” they said.

He glanced up briefly. “ **I can’t. I’m a Mandalorian.** ”

“You say that as if it means anything to me.”

He remained silent, focusing on feeding the child. There was nothing he wanted more than to simply shoot them all, go back to his ship, and take his chances with the great unknown, but he couldn’t. He needed to resupply, and get directions. Maybe he could go weeks without food, but the child couldn’t. He wouldn’t be so irresponsible as to put it in that situation. 

So he waited.


	2. And now I just sit in silence

The Mandalorian didn’t have to wait long before a man walked into the room. “Seri-san, you are dismissed.”

The spokesman up to this point nodded politely, then was gone. 

“My name is Tsukauchi Naomasa.” The man sat in the chair opposite from Mando. His black eyes were bright, serious, and sickeningly sincere. “I need you to tell me who you are and what you were doing flying in Japan’s airspace.”

Mando closed his eyes in exasperation. “ **I’m a Mandalorian, and I’m trying to resupply and get directions to the nearest information spaceport. Once I have those two things, you’ll never see me again.** ”

“As simple as that, hmm?” He leaned back, crossing his arms. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible until we know how dangerous you are. Speaking of which-- what’s your quirk?”

“ **What is a quirk?** ” Second time’s the charm.

“You don’t--” Tsukauchi paused. “You don’t know what a quirk is.”

“ **No.** ”

He ran a hand down his face. “I… don’t know how to explain it. It’s an ability that is normally against the laws of physics-- something that no one but you has. Do you have anything like that?”

Mando thought of the child, how it had lifted the mudhorn without even touching it. “ **I don’t.** ”

“Where are you from?”

“ **Nowhere in particular-- but if my guess is correct... far, far away from here.** ”

“... how far?”

“ **Several thousand lightyears away, possibly millions.** ”

****

Tsukauchi startled. “But that’s not possible.” 

****

Mando shrugged. 

****

“You’re talking about outer space, correct?” 

****

That question didn’t merit a response, either. 

****

Tsukauchi stood, pushing his chair back. “Last question, for now. Do you intend harm on this planet or any of its occupants?” 

****

“ **No,** ” he said, rather frustrated. He was reconsidering the idea of shooting his way out of here, but restrained himself. It seemed that this planet was not connected to the rest of the universe. Figures. Plan B: Forgo directions; get supplies and get the heck out of there. 

****

“Okay.” He tucked the chair into the table. “I’ll arrange a room for you and your kid. In the meantime, sit tight. I know a few people that would like to talk to you.” 

****

“ **Wait.** ” Mando gestured at the little one, who was listening quietly. “ **The child’s a carnivore. Can you make sure that information gets to the right people?** ” 

****

“I can. What about you?” 

****

“ **I don’t need anything.** ” 

****

Tsukauchi frowned. “You’re lying.” 

****

The Mandalorian blinked, unsure how to respond. 

****

“What do you need, in regards to nutrients?” 

****

“ **Anything’s fine,** ” he said flatly. “ **But I need somewhere to eat it privately, and I doubt that privacy’s going to be provided. I’ll pass.** ” 

****

"Why?" 

****

“ **I’m a Mandalorian,** ” he repeated for the… third? fourth? time that day. “ **I cannot let others’ see my face, or I can never where the mantle of Mandalorian again. This is the Way.** " 

****

He was regarded with keen black eyes, then the man said, “I’ll be sure to pass that on, too.” 

****

He shrugged. “ **As long as this little womp rat is fed, I’ll be content.** ” It cooed at him, and he softened, his lips curving into an unseen smile. 

****

Tsukauchi left, and Mando worked on keeping the child entertained. It wasn’t too hard-- it seemed satisfied to just stare at him with those too-intelligent, too-adorable eyes. He was sure that it wasn’t normal for his heart to feel like it was being held next to a hearth on a cold winter day. Cozy, warm, feeling like it can withstand a storm… you get the point. It didn’t seem normal, to him. 

****

An hour passed. 

****

The gremlin started to garble a little, probably requiring food. Milk was hardly substantial to a 50-year-old being, baby or not. 

****

Thankfully, someone entered before too long, carrying a tray with an assortment of meats and broths on it, all in baby-sized portions. This someone had forest green hair and eyes, wearing a loose teal combat suit with muted red boots and belt. Following him was a man with bloodshot eyes and a thin cloth wrapped shapelessly around his neck. He seemed to be in charge, despite his bedraggled appearance and tired manner. 

****

The man slumped into the chair, looking on the verge of sleep. “I’m Eraserhead. That’s Deku. We’re here to tell you about your situation.” 

****

Deku placed the tray on the table. “You can feed the little one while we talk. What’s his name?” 

****

Mando plucked a brown slab from the tray, feeding the child. “ **Doesn’t have one.** ” 

****

“What do you mean, ‘doesn’t have one’?” Deku asked, eyes curious. “Doesn’t your species name your children?” 

****

“ **Mine does,** ” he allowed. “ **But this is not my child. I’ve been taking care of it, but it’s not my place to name it.** ” 

****

“Oh.” 

****

“How did you come to take care of him, then?” the man, Eraserhead, inquired intently. 

****

This was more talking then he’d had for a while, besides talking to the child. He wasn’t sure that he liked it all that much. “ **It was being hunted, so I took it from the hunters.** ” A little twisted from the truth, but close enough. 

****

The kid cooed at him. He gave it another piece of meat. 

****

“Looks like you’ve had him for a while.” 

****

The Mandalorian nodded, but did not look up. “ **You said you came to talk about our situation. So talk.** ” 

****

A pause. “To make a long conversation short: we can’t let you go yet. It is evident that you are dangerous, despite your quirklessness, and we don’t know a fig about who you are or what your intentions are. We’ll keep your ship safe, we’ll give you room and board, and we’ll work out a way for you to earn your keep, but you can’t go outside without an escort or cause trouble. Any particular skills that you have that we should know about?” 

****

The Mandalorian quietly simmered, but hid it by giving the child more food. “ **Close-hand combat, long-range combat, tracking, spying, and fluency in several languages.** ” Which begs the question, how is this planet so far from where he’s used to, yet still uses the common tongue? “ **Along with that, I am competent in several trades, such as blacksmithing, tailoring, and mechanics.** ” 

****

“Good to know.” Eraserhead stood. “I’ll send someone in to show you to where you’ll be staying.” 

****

Then they were gone, and, once again, the Mandalorian and the child were alone. 

****

He breathed deeply. 

****

They needed to get off this planet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are appreciated


	3. I will fly with no hope, no fear / And the ground taunts my wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interlude starring Izuku

Izuku was surprised when Aizawa-sensei came to him with an assignment-- a ‘learning opportunity’, is what he said. Apparently, someone had come from _space_. This was classified, of course. Aizawa-sensei said that this would be a perfect way to train for unexpected situations. Izuku asked how many people came from the sky in the past year. Aizawa-sensei looked him in the eye and said, “What gave you the idea that there was more than one?” 

Which was Aizawa’s way of saying ‘none of your business’.

So, Izuku followed him to the police station, knowing that nothing would be as expected. Except, it had been even less than what he’d expected. 

When they’d walked into the room, he’d had to do a double-take. The armoured man was more… humanoid than he’d thought he’d be, and Deku certainly hadn’t thought the child would be that… ugly? Cute? Now that he thought about it, he guessed that most babies were that way.

Then the man spoke, and it made shivers run up his spine. How can a voice be that _unsettling_? It was deep and dark and mysterious. Certainly alien. Curiously, the accent was similar to that of an American’s, with a slightly foreign twinge. Hmm. And how did he know English, if he really wasn’t from Earth?

Their encounter was brief, but Izuku was brimming with withheld excitement and a thousand unasked questions. 

Aizawa-sensei turned to him. “What do you think?”

Izuku blinked in surprise, tilting his head thoughtfully. “He seems… irritated.”

“That’s because he _is_ irritated. If my observations are correct, he’s been protecting that little one for a while now, and from much more dangerous people than us. They’ve been running, probably. Someone’s after them. Judging by how combat was his first choice when I asked, his occupation probably has something to do with combat. He’s dangerous. We’ll need to keep an eye on him.”

“Do you think we should ask him what his occupation is?”

Aizawa paused the conversation for a moment to order someone around, then turned back to Izuku. “Eventually. For now, we need to figure out what to do with him. We can’t let him fly off this planet just yet, just in case he _does_ have bad intentions with this world, but we can’t very well give him a regular job, for the same reason. We’ll have to put him somewhere secure, with pro-heroes all around, that fit to his capabilities…”

“You’re thinking U.A.?” Izuku was hesitant. 

They were approaching the school, its great glass walls towering above them. It looked frighteningly fragile.

“Why not?” Aizawa passed by the gates with barely a sideways glance. “He could prepare our students with different fighting styles, and I doubt he would hurt them. He seemed to care enough for the green child. And Tsukauchi was certain that he doesn’t mean to harm anyone at the moment. I tend to take the True Man for his word, don’t you?”

They reached the building. “I do.”

“Then take me at mine.” Aizawa gestured for Izuku to proceed without him. “There’s a meeting I have to be at. Stay out of trouble, Midoriya.”

Izuku smiled faintly. “I’ll try my best.”

Aizawa-sensei glared. “Try harder than that.” Then he left.

Typical Aizawa.

(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Izuku was back at the dorms, and his friends were asking him all sorts of questions. Well, not all of them were ‘friends’, exactly…

“Where’ve you _been_ , Deku?” Bakugo boomed. 

“Sorry, that’s confidential,” Izuku said, blinking widely at his former friend.

“C’ _mon_ , Midoriya,” Pinky whined. “We won’t tell anyone. What did Sensei need you for?”

Izuku shrugged, flopping onto the common room sofa. “Just a second opinion, I think.”

“ _Midoriya_ \--”

Iida came to his rescue, chopping his arm expressively. “Enough! We’ve all got studying to do! And I’m sure that Midoriya doesn’t want us pressing him for details.”

There were groans at the mention of studying, but everyone there was determined to become a hero, so they swallowed their discomfort and marched off to do so. 

“That includes you, Midoriya!”

He sighed.

(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

(Cue Izuku screaming into a pillow after staring at a textbook for half an hour.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is a bit shorter of a chapter than usual. But, thankfully for me, it was much less editing and formatting. Since there wasn't any Mando in this chapter. Why oh why did I decide that his voice should be bolded?
> 
> Thanks for all your comments! I always appreciate them!


	4. Save your [flamethrowers] now, not yet

The Mandalorian’s quarters were evidently under surveillance, but not in his bathroom or bedroom. He’d been in places with much less of a sense of privacy-- or of hygiene, for that matter-- and he was grateful that he would be able to eat, at least. He’d gone long periods before without, when it was impossible to do so without revealing his face, so: he was appreciative. 

He munched on an efficient food that they called a ‘burrito’, finishing it in a few quick bites. He didn’t like leaving the child alone for too long. As he fitted his helmet on his head, he examined that thought. He’d left the child alone on multiple occasions. What had happened since then to change that?

He shrugged philosophically. No point pondering over it. He stepped out of the bedroom.

The cradle was empty. 

He spun around, sweeping the room with his eyes. No sign of the young one. He rushed to the exit, poking his head out the door. He tensed when he saw the womp rat in the grasp of a scrawny man with tousled bright yellow hair. He held out his hands. “ **Give it to me.** ”

“You really should keep a better eye on him,” the man said, but passed it over. Mando scanned it for injuries. It seemed unharmed, its dark eyes staring unblinkingly, its ears twitching. 

It cooed, and he could finally relax.

“I’m Toshinori.” Mando looked up as the man spoke. “And you are?”

“ **Call me Mando.** ” He tucked the child under his arm, intending to keep it there until his heart stopped pounding. 

Toshinori held out a frail hand. “Nice to meet you, Mando.”

The Mandalorian shook the hand gingerly, but was not fooled by the man’s brittle appearance. That gleam in his eye was too steely, that grip too certain, that stance too casually steady.

“We think we’ve found a temporary placement for you,” Toshinori stated, getting straight to the point of the matter. Mando appreciated that. 

“ **Alright,** ” he gruffed, then he held open the door in invitation. 

This was probably going to take a while.

He was right, of course. Toshinori took a long-winded approach to explaining what the school was and what his job would be and what the benefits of accepting would be and how it would take a while for him to be ‘given permission’ to get back into space. Meanwhile, Mando was weighing pros and cons. Pros: he would get this planet’s type of currency, and he’d be able to buy supplies, get goodwill with this species. Most importantly: he was out of the reach of bounty hunters. Cons: it would take a while to get off this planet, and he was at the mercy of these peoples’ pleasures. Which he did not like. 

In the end, he accepted. He kept thinking, ‘The child’s safe here’. And maybe it was, but, eventually, he would get restless, and he would have to leave. 

But maybe, when that happened, he’d trust these people enough to leave the child with them when he left.

(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

The next day, Eraserhead led him to meet the ‘hero’ students, and Mando brought the child with him. He wasn’t told no, but he was given a disapproving look. 

He wasn’t going to let that stop him.

They entered a room just like any other, except it was filled with desks and children to occupy them. They were a variety of colours and shapes-- the most variety that the Mandalorian had seen in one species. 

“This is Mando,” Eraserhead droned, leaning against the wall as if it was the only thing keeping him upright. “For the next week or so he’s going to be sparring with each of you. He knows several different fighting styles that you haven’t seen or heard of before, and he’s going to test your proficiency in stealth operations. Treat him like you would any other teacher.”

A kid with spiky blond hair stood abruptly, face screwed up in what Mando assumed was supposed to be a threatening scowl. “WE’VE LEARNED ALL OF THAT ALREADY!!!!!” he shouted with the lung capacity of a wookiee. “Why do we have to learn it again from this _stranger?_ I bet he isn’t even that good! Like, seriously, he’s a dad.” He gestured to the child in Mando’s arms. “What kind of dad is good at fighting??”

A boy with a gnarled scar across half his face ducked his head, brimming with cold malice.

Mando decided that enough was enough. If he had to teach these children, then they had to respect him, maybe even fear him a little. He set down the child on the ground, then strode towards the blonde kid with the temper. He stepped right up to him, chest to chest, looking down at the petulant womp rat. 

The kid glared for all of two seconds before (to the complete surprise and delight of the class) backpedaling half a step and plopping right back into his chair. 

“ **Careful, kid,** ” Mando warned, then walked back to his position beside Eraserhead, plucking the little gremlin from the floor and settling it on his hip. 

“Any other objections?” Aizawa asked dryly. 

The rest looked either eager or bored. No one else objected.

“Alright, let’s get started then.”

(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Mando easily flipped the green-haired kid-- Deku, if he remembered correctly-- over his shoulder, pinning him to the ground. 1, 2, 3… He released him, stepping back. “ **Try again. You’re overshooting your punches, leaving yourself open to counterattack.** ”

Deku nodded, a look of intense contemplation on his face as he got to his feet, putting himself in a ready posture. 

It was over in 32 seconds, ten seconds longer than the last. 

He brushed a thumb over a beskarless glove; he’d taken all his armour but his helmet off for this exercise. He didn’t want the children to injure themselves trying to hit him. “ **Good enough for now. Remember-- you’re not trying to punch at something behind the person, you’re trying to punch the person, alright?** ”

“Thanks so much!” The kid was breathing heavily, sweat gleaming on his brow, but there was a wide smile on his face. 

“ **Yeah, yeah.** ” Mando brushed it off, checking on the gremlin out of the corner of his eye. It was surrounded by the pink child, the sparkly child, the invisible child, and the red-haired child. They were teasing it and blowing raspberries at it and making it laugh its gurgling giggle. Thankfully, it was distracted enough not to try and do-whatever-it-did to Mando’s opponents. He didn’t want it showing its power to anyone, not yet.

He turned to the next child in line, Uraraka they said her name was. She had an anti-gravity quirk. 

This was going to be interesting.

“ **Ready?** ” he asked. 

She widened her stance. “Ready.”

Then they were off, ducking around each other. Her fighting style was kinda wrapped up to being ‘get in close and get in fast’. He knocked her off her feet in seconds. 

Again. 

And again.

And again.

The fifth time, she managed to use her quirk on him. He dealt with the shift in gravity with ease, bouncing off her hand to the ceiling, then back down again to pin her. 

“Teach me.” And he did.

He worked with her a little longer than the others, simply because it was exhilarating, and interesting to see how she used her quirk. 

“OW!” came a voice, from the direction of his little gremlin.

He backed off, jogging to where the children were surrounding the child. Then sighed. It meant _do-I-really-have-to-deal-with-this-again?_

His ad’ika had the frog-girl’s tongue in its mouth.

“ **That’s not for eating,** ” he explained patiently, unlatching the kid’s jaw from the student’s tongue. “ **That’s a person. People are not food. Do you understand?** ”

The kid had the gall to _coo_. And Mando was a weak little suck-up, so picked it up. 

He turned to the student who was nursing her sore tongue. “ **Sorry. It’s like that.** ”

The class stared at him. 

He sighed again. “ **Sparring session over.** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to ShadowXIII, who wondered what would happen if baby yoda tried to eat Tsuyu, 'cause she's a frog, and baby yoda eats frogs... get it?
> 
> Comments are loved and appreciated!


	5. To add the miles piled behind me / I barely feel a smile deep inside me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter's kinda filler, but whatever. We're getting to the better parts.

“We’re taking a day trip.”

There was a mingling of excited yelps and tired groans at Aizawa’s words. Most students aren’t exactly morning people, believe it or not.

Mando watched the proceedings with an air of restlessness. He’d given the little gremlin to Toshinori for the day, and he was already worried about the bugger. It was too late to get him now, however. He was stuck preparing these young ones for the bitter reality of the universe. 

They were herded into a contraption called a ‘bus’. It did not hover. Mando wondered how this world was so advanced socially, yet so mechanically ancient. 

As the bus rattled along the cement road, he wondered if the _Razor Crest_ was being well taken care of. He made a mental note to check when he got back. If they’d even _scratched_ his ship…

He sat alone, staring out a window, watching an unusually green landscape rush past him, its surface teeming with wildlife and vegetation. He spotted a four-legged creature with antlers bounding elegantly alongside the bus, prancing as if showing off to the unappreciative teenagers. He locked gazes with it and nodded slightly. Thus acknowledged, the beast ducked its head and leapt away on lithe limbs. 

“Can you understand animals?” 

He turned his head to regard the vice representative of Class 1-A. “ **Of course not.** ”

The teen just shrugged, standing awkwardly. She gestured at the empty spot beside Mando. “Mind if I sit?”

He gave no response, merely inclining his head. She took a seat. 

They stared out the window. Awkwardly.

“If you don’t mind my asking, what _is_ your quirk?” she asked after a long moment of silence.

What is it with these people and ‘quirks’? “ **Don’t have one.** ”

“You’re quirkless?” She seemed surprised. “I thought that… well, I thought that since you’re teaching us at U.A., you must have _some_ sort of quirk.”

“ **Nope.** " He popped the _p_.

She looked at him, contemplating. After a moment, she seemed to decide something. “You’re going to kick our butts, aren’t you?”

“ **Yep.** ” He popped the _p_.

Her smirk was mischievous. “We might surprise you.”

To her surprise, he agreed, “ **Very likely. I’ve only been sparring with you for a day or so.** ”

She eyed him with a hint of admiration, leaning back in her chair and lacing her fingers together in front of her. 

There was a pause in conversation, more comfortable than the last. 

“Have you been teaching for very long?”

“ **This is my first time.** ” For some reason, he didn’t feel any inclination to ignore her, unlike most people that he met. Kids _might_ be his soft spot. He’d have to fix that. Sometime. Eventually. (Read: never.)

“You’re a natural at it.”

He shrugged a little. “ **Not really.** ”

She rolled her eyes. “Deny it if you want, but it’s the truth.” She looked out the window exaggeratedly. “Oh, look. I think we’re here.”

They had turned onto a dirt road, reaching its end, where a little wooden hut tilted on the brink of collapse. Filing out of the bus, the hero students approached the hut with wariness. _What are we doing here?_ they were wondering. 

“Alright everyone,” Aizawa droned. “We’re going to do a little stealth exercise. You will be split into three groups, each trying to find a small figurine in the woods. You’re team will get directions. You have to get to your figurine and back before the other teams.”

Yaoyorozu raised her hand. “What’s Mando going to be doing?”

“He and I will be giving you all a little surprise…” Aizawa smiled lazily, like a cat. “It’s a stealth exercise for a reason.”

The students shifted uneasily at that. Aizawa’s ‘surprises’ never seemed to end well. For them, at least.

Aizawa made the students line up, counting them off, “1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3…”

Soon enough, they were in three groups of 6 or 7. Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu, Midoriya, Uraraka, Hagakure, and Koda were on one team. Todoroki, Sero, Shoji, Kaminari, Aoyama, Sato, and Jiro were on another. The last team was Kirishima, Ashido, Bakugo, Asui, Ojiro, and Iida.

Mando mused that putting Bakugo and Iida on the same team was either a wise idea, or a reckless one. It would turn out one of two ways: Iida tempering Bakugo’s fiery nature, or Bakugo feeling cornered by Iida’s leadership and blowing up the mission, quite literally. 

The first team he believed would work well together-- probably electing the vice representative as the leader. The second team he was unsure of. Todoroki was always a wild card, from what he’d seen of the boy. Had a tendency of going lone soldier, if what Aizawa said about him was true.

“Elect a leader. You have five minutes,” said Aizawa.

The next five minutes was the most chaotic of Mando’s life. Voices yelling, Bakugo _screaming_ (that boy really did have lungs. Wow. Would’a thought?), and even a few scuffles here and there. Once the five minutes were up, all activity ceased. Mando had no idea how they made a decision with all that cacophony. 

The first team stepped forwards. “Yaoyorozu,” they said in unison.

The second team stepped forwards. “Jiro,” they said uncertainly.

The third team stepped forwards. They hesitated. “Iida,” they said firmly. Bakugo looked like he was ready to blow fire out of his ears. 

Mando watched the scene with a hint of awe. Was this how he’d acted when he was younger? If so, he was glad to be old. 

He cracked his neck. Even if old meant a few cricks in his bones.

Aizawa gave each leader their instructions, telling them that they could start whenever they were ready. Todoroki, Kaminari, Aoyama, Kirishima, and Bakugo all wanted to begin right away. They were held back by their team leaders, who understood the importance of making a plan. The first team were already started, with Midoriya muttering on the unpredictability of the exercise, Uraraka and Hagakure talking about failsafe strategies, and the rest listening and thinking quietly. 

Mando nodded appreciatively. They worked well together. 

Then, slipping into the trees, he prepared for his own part of the exercise.


	6. I was told when I get older all my fears would shrink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SHOULD PROBABLY MENTION: I'm making this directly after the Sports Festival, so yeh. Because I can't plot well so I'm piggybacking off of canon. *Awkward thumbs up.*

Mando chilled in a tree. As you do. He was watching Group 3, fighting about what the instructions might mean and where they should go and how they should get there. It was annoying. More than annoying; it was frustrating. These kids didn’t know a fig about working as a team. How will they save people if they can’t work together when they do it?

He sighed. Oh well.

Then he jumped out of the tree. 

The students yelped in surprise, scattering backwards, away from the sudden addition to their group. 

“ **Let’s get started, then, shall we?** ” he said as he threw a punch at Ojiro. The kid dodged expertly, recovering from his shock. He tried to spin around so that he could use his powerful tail, but Mando was already weaving around the other students, elbowing them aside and kicking a few choice places. They were all alert, now. Good. They should have been alert in the first place.

The Bakugou child was fuming, charging at him instantly. He actually didn’t have too bad of a form-- just too quick with his instincts and too slow in his anger. 

Ojiro was too quick to use his tail, forgetting that he had other limbs to fight. Iida did likewise, predictable in the way he used his legs. Kirishima had a too hands-on approach-- which makes sense with his Quirk, but much like Bakugo, he needed to think before he acted. Ashido was surprisingly impressive, flexible in the way she moved, but she also relied on her Quirk too much. The only one who really thought about her actions was Asui, taking time to watch for openings and using them to her advantage. However, she was small, and didn’t take that into account. It was easy to catch her off her guard.

Though, as they fought, it became evident that these kids had been in battles before. Not fake, breezy fights like this, no-- they’d fought _real_ threats. They worked together with the kind of trust only forged in the heat of danger. 

Mando wondered what the teachers hadn’t told him. 

In the end, he decided that he’d slowed them down enough, ducking out of the way and sprinting into the trees to find another group to hassle. Group 3 tried to follow him, of course, but he shot, “ **Not the objective!** ” over his shoulder, and they stopped chasing him, embarrassed. 

Next was Group 2. Mando was hiding behind a tree, and they were walking along a path, staying vigilant. Not vigilant enough, because when he jumped out with a sarcastic “ **Boo** ” they all jumped like scared rabbits. The kid with the ice-and-fire quirk was the only one who looked calm, the rest were wary of him, as they should be. 

After they recovered from their initial shock, they approached him in a neat formation. Mando was content with their teamwork, but they didn’t know proper battle tactics. If someone approached them from the sky, it’d be game over. They didn’t really have to worry about that, considering how the technology there wasn’t advanced in that way, but it was certainly something to consider. 

The lone wolf threw some ice at him-- trying to immobilize him, no doubt-- but Mando fired up his flamethrowers, melting any that got near him. He didn’t let himself get too focused on Todoroki, however, spinning around to kick Shoji in the ankle, neatly tripping him. 

It went on like this for a while, the kids steadily panicking more and more as they attacked him without success. Mando was breathing heavily at this point-- but so were they. He revelled in their shocked expressions. Maybe kids weren’t too bad.

He caught a flash of white from the corner of his eye. Aizawa. Detangling himself from the flock of children, he saluted in the Rebellion fashion, then bolted the heck out of there. Aizawa would take it from there. 

Group 1 was refreshingly competent. Before Mando even got to them, a sharp bird trill warned Koda of his presence. A hand gesture alerted the others. Instead of having a cohesive formation, they spread out, allowing each other space and disorientating the enemy. Well, any other enemy but Mando, that is. 

Tokoyami was the most brutally powerful, (besides Midoriya-- but Mando hadn’t even seen him use his quirk yet. Aizawa said that it injured him whenever he used it. Odd), but Yaoyorozu had the most flexible quirk. Already, she was pulling a strange, bulging gun from her stomach. She shot it, and a slimy projectile hurled its way towards Mando. He dodged, bouncing low on the balls of his feet, eyes constantly roving the air around him. Uraraka threw Midoriya at the same time that Hagakure came from behind him. He grabbed her forearm, chucking her into Midoriya, and sidestepped to avoid the collision. 

Fluffy land mammals that the locals called ‘squirrels’ tried to claw their way up his armour, but he shook them off, keeping them back with a controlled burst of flame. ‘Dark Shadow’ sent him flying with a blow to his chest, and he hit a tree. Uraraka was in front of him now, reaching with blush-dotted fingers. He snorted, rolling out of the way and kicking her feet out from under her. 

Yaoyorozu shot him point-blank with her sticky gun.

The gooey substance spread quickly over the left side of his chest, holding him fast to the grassy earth beneath him. He huffed, but held up his right hand. “ **I surrender, you little womp rats,** ” he said, a hint of affection tinging his tone. “ **Mind helping me up?** ”

They rushed to wipe the sticky stuff off with some sort of dissolvant that Yaoyorozu made. Midoriya clasped hands with him and pulled him to his feet. 

“ **Now get out of here. You have a figurine to deliver.** ”

(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Uraraka was bouncing, clutching the crow figurine in her hand as they ran back to the hut. She felt proud that they were able to defeat Mando-sensei-- though it was hard, even with the 6-to-1 odds. They hadn’t won against Aizawa-sensei, but that’s okay! Better luck next time!

They reached the hut. It looked like they were the first ones there! She pumped a fist in the air, whooping happily and sharing a high-five with Deku. She was glad that he didn’t use his quirk. He always seemed willing to get hurt in order to try his best. But he couldn’t do that anymore. After the Sports Festival, Recovery Girl told him that she wouldn’t heal any self-inflicted injuries anymore. She told him to stop breaking his body. He promised to stop.

Uraraka would make sure that he kept that promise.

Mando-sensei was leaning against the wall of the hut, waiting for them. She felt a burst of respect for him. He was able to keep his own against six people at once, and he didn’t even have a quirk! Admittedly, those six people were all kids still in training, but it was still so cool! And those flamethrowers were impressive!

He straightened, nodding a greeting. They nodded enthusiastically back, waving vigorously.

“Are you done fighting people?” Hagakure asked, a bit of a hopeful tone in her voice.

He shrugged. “ **I think I might go out again.** ”

“Can I come with you?” Uraraka said intently. “I wouldn’t get in the way!”

“Me too!” Midoriya yelled and Yaoyorozu asked calmly.

He shrugged again.

“Yay! Let’s go scare Bakugo!”

(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

(Cue Bakugo getting jump-scared and blasting himself into a tree branch.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how sloppy this chapter is. I don't know how to write fight scenes.
> 
> Feel free to comment criticism or encouragement! All are welcome!


	7. Yeah, trust issues, not to mention / They say they can smell your intentions

Class 1-A going off to internships, so there wasn’t really anything they could do with Mando. Shouta talked to Naomasa, but the detective just shrugged. “He’s your responsibility now, Shouta,” was what he said. 

Shouta sighed a long, drawn-out sigh, sinking deeper into his pastel yellow sleeping bag. ‘ _Why_ ,’ was his only thought before drifting into a light doze.

When he woke up, he unzipped himself from the warm confines of his sleeping bag, getting reluctantly to his feet. He had to figure out what to do with the Mandolorian. 

He sighed again. He was going to visit Tensei soon, to see if he remembered anything else about what happened in Hosu. Maybe he could drag the Mandalorian along, just until he figured out what to do with him. 

(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

Mando chased the little gremlin around his apartment, trying to get it to put its clothes back on, but it was hard work. How did parents manage it? It was like everything that he needed to get done, the gremlin needed to undo it, especially when it came to clothes or sleeping. 

He was faster than the little bugger, so it was a simple process to pick it up and rangle it into a child’s robe. “ **C’mon, womp rat.** ”

It cooed, plucking at its garments.

“ **No.** ” The Mandalorian pried its wrinkly hands from its clothes, saying, “ **You’ve got to keep that on. Social decency and all that.** ”

“Waggmerooo?” it inquired, in a language that didn’t exist except in its head.

“ **... water? You want water?** ” He grabbed what the locals called a ‘sippy cup’ and filled it with the clear liquid. He handed it to the gremlin. “ **This?** ”

“Waggmerooo!” it repeated excitedly, chugging it back.

Mando watched with absolutely no affection at all. Emotionless was the Mandalorian. Emotionless as a five year old that’s seen a puppy walking down the street. 

A knock came at the door. 

Mando thoughtlessly left the gremlin to its own devices, answering the door. It was Aizawa. He held the door a little wider, an invitation to come inside. The teacher complied. 

He got right to business. “I’m going on a trip to visit a friend in the hospital. I need you to come with me, for security purposes.”

Mando nodded. He understood. What was there to say? He was under these peoples’ power, and there wasn’t much he could do about it. “ **And the kid, too?** ”

Aizawa shrugged. 

Mando nodded.

They stood awkwardly. 

“ **When and where to?** ”

“Tomorrow, 3 o’clock. Hosu.” 

“ **Alright.** ”

They stood awkwardly. Awkwardly they stood. In an awkward silence they were awkward.

“Alright,” Aizawa repeated, then turned on his heel and walked out the door.

“ **Well, that was awkward,** ” the Mandalorian noted to the air. 

… 

The child warbled, tugging his hand, so he gave it the attention it deserved.

(:):(:):(:):(:):(:)

They were in Hosu. Mando was following Aizawa into a rather barbaric hospital. Where were the laser-stitchers? Where were the light-based disinfectants? The chemicals they were using to disinfect the place were nothing short of primitive. It reminded the Mandalorian of the planets deep in poverty-- but _this_ planet was plentiful with plantlife and sunlight, and over 70% of it was water. How were they not more advanced? Maybe it was a fairly young planet… but that didn’t explain the communication connections from this planet to others.

They walked into a room where a black-haired individual lay on a bleach-white hospital bed. His legs were mangled beyond repair, wrapped in gauze and covered from the knee up by a paper-thin shirt. A flash of anger overcame the Mandalorian. Any reasonable medical facility would have been able to fix that wound. 

He felt the overwhelming urge to help this man, but he wasn’t sure if he could, so late after the injury was dealt out. Besides-- he wasn’t trained as a medic. What he _could_ do was make the man as comfortable as possible. 

He surpassed Aizawa, sticking out a hand in greeting. “ **I’m Mando. I apologize, but I cannot take off my helmet to look you in the eyes.** ”

The man’s grip was firm, and his eyes were sparkling with life. “Iida Tensei, and it really is no problem.”

Mando nodded in respect. Iida seemed like the kind of man who was aware of death-- but had looked it in the eyes and did not cower in the face of it. “ **A pleasure to meet you, Iida.** ”

“You as well, Mando-san.”

Aizawa stepped past Mando, getting to the matter at hand. “Tensei-kun. Is there anything else you can remember from your encounter with the Hero Killer?”

Iida glanced briefly at Mando, then shrugged. “Not really-- but I do have a theory about his quirk. He licked my blood, just before I stopped being able to move. I think that his quirk has to do with ingesting blood, and those whose blood he ingests are paralized. It’s time limited. I’d say 15 to 20 minutes? It might vary from person to person, but that’s how long it took for me to be able to move again.”

“ **This… Hero Killer,** ” Mando said. “ **He did this to you?** ”

“Yes, and he could’ve done much worse.” Iida’s lip curled upwards wryly. “I was vulnerable.”

“ **And this man is still a threat?** ” Mando confirmed.

Aizawa was wondering where the Mandalorian was going with this line of questioning. “To everyone around him.”

He nodded, absently picking up the little gremlin from where it was hiding behind his leg. “ **I’ll deal with him for you.** ”

“No, you won’t.”

“ **What else are you going to do with me?** ” he pointed out. “ **Besides, I’ve been getting restless. I haven’t hunted anything in _weeks_. My skills simply aren’t being tested enough when training your young ones.**”

“I don’t trust you.”

“ **You don’t trust me with a serial killer, but you trust me with your children?** ”

Aizawa shook his head. “This is different. There, I can watch you at all times, but if you go after the Hero Killer, then I can’t keep an eye on you. Also, what about your son? Where will you leave him while you're chasing after our problem? It simply is not a logical decision.”

Mando shrugged. “ **My work is dangerous. I’ve brought the child along throughout all sorts of things and it hasn’t died yet.** ”

“Your work?” Iida interjected, amused by the conversation.

“ **Interuniversal bounty hunter. One of the best,** ” Mando said bluntly. He turned to Aizawa. “ **Please let me be helpful-- I feel like a deadweight.” He hesitated. “I’ll leave the child with you, as… collateral. You know how much I care about it.** ”

“If you care so much about him, then why do you call him an it?” Aizawa shot back.

“ **Simply because I do not know if it is male or female.” Mando looked at the content child in his arms. “I’ve never seen a species of creature such as it, so I do not know how to tell.** ”

He met Aizawa’s gaze.

“Fine.” The teacher frowned. “But the Hero Killer must be brought here alive.”

Mando bounced on the balls of his feet, anticipation coursing through him. 

He was back in business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic will be getting very slow updates (already has some very slow updates hahaha), because I'm working on my other BNHA fic, Private Cancellation, which has weekly updates. This fic will probably only be having monthly updates, so I apologize. Thanks so much for reading, and see you next chapter!


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